Classic Wheels Showcase: Davis

The 1942-'45 interruption in automobile production during the Second World War created a post-war pent-up demand for cars that attracted several newcomers to the automobile business. Such names as Tucker, Bobbi Kar (later Keller), Playboy, Jordan Playboy), Muntz and Kaiser-Frazer appeared.

One of the most interesting new ventures was the Davis, brainchild of Gary Davis of California. The most unusual feature of the car was its three wheels: one front and two rear.

While never popular, three-wheelers were in and out of automotive history. The world's first self-propelled motor vehicle was a three-wheeler, French engineer Nicholas Cugnot’s 1769 steam powered artillery wagon. And Karl Benz's little internal combustion engine powered 1885 "Patent Wagen," the world's first practical motor car, had three-wheels. England's Morgan and Bond became famous for three wheelers.

The Davis was based on the "Californian" roadster constructed in about 1941 for wealthy playboy Joel Thorne by California sports and race car builder Frank Kurtis. Transplanted Indianan Gary Davis acquired the car in 1945 and used it as the basis for the Davis design.

He formed Davis Motorcar Co. and acquired a former aircraft factory in Van Nuys, California where development and production began. Most components came from outside sources. Small side-valve, four cylinder Hercules or Continental engines were located in the front driving the rear wheels through a Ford clutch, transmission and rear axle.

The Davis’s frame was a conventional channel steel frame with the single front wheel mounted on a yoke suspended by two coil springs, aircraft style, reflecting the Davis engineers' aircraft industry background. Rear suspension, initially leaf springs, was soon changed to coils, and tire changing was facilitated by built-in hydraulic jacks at each wheel. Disc brakes were specified.

A sleek aircraft inspired aluminum body was used for lightness, and because it was then more readily available than steel. Weight estimates vary from 628 to 907 kg (1,385 to 2000 lb).

The headlights hid behind small doors and a grille was eliminated by admitting cooling air through a slot under the bumper, allowing a smooth, unbroken prow. The removable steel top was claimed strong enough to withstand a rollover.

With a wheelbase of 2,743 mm (108 in.) and length of just under 4,877 mm (16 ft) the Davis was no midget. Davis claimed four-abreast seating for the single 1,626 mm (64 in.) wide seat. A seven-passenger plaster mock-up was built and used for publicity photos, but apparently didn't reach the prototype stage.

The Davis was introduced on Nov. 12, 1947 at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles to an enthusiastic reception, although with some misgivings about the stability of three-wheels.

To counter this concern Glen Davis enthusiastically demonstrated the Davis's manoeuvrability and roll-over resistance by performing spins, slides and fast figure eights. This was confirmed by an outside car tester, Tom McCahill of Mechanix Illustrated.

McCahill was apparently one of the few writers to drive a Davis, although his August, 1948 "test" was confined to zipping around inside the factory. It convinced him that the Davis was very stable.

A three-wheeler advantage was that the front wheel could be steered 45 degrees left or right providing a turning circle of only 7.9 m (26 ft). Parking required a space just 305 mm (1 foot) longer that the car, making it an ideal urban runabout.

A top speed as high as 187 km/h (116 mph) was claimed, a figure McCahill doubted, opining that 161 (100) was probably closer to the truth. Davis engineers put it at a more realistic 121 km/h (75 mph).

The claimed 30 to 35 mpg fuel economy was likely achievable, given the small engine and good aerodynamics. The Davis was to be priced at $995.

The Davis was toured around the country and close to 200 dealers and distributors paid almost $1 million for the privilege of selling it. But it was not to be. Like all upstarts Davis suffered from a lack of capital.

The company struggled through 1948 and into '49 building an estimated 17 Davis cars, plus three, three-wheeled prototype Jeep-like army vehicles he tried to sell to the military. The doors finally shut in May, 1949.

By this time Gary Davis's staff was suing him for close to $200,000 in back wages, and there was litigation concerning his rights to the original Kurtis design. Also, Davis had allegedly diverted company funds for personal use and the District Attorney was investigating. Ultimately found guilty of fraud, Davis spent two years in a California prison.

Although the Davis seemed to have good potential, particularly if the $995 priced could have been achieved, the struggle to get up and running was just too great. Whether Davis sincerely tried to launch a car, as seems likely, or was just a flimflam artist will probably never be known. He died in Palm Springs, California in 1973 at age 69.